A few months ago I made a plan to learn Swift in 10 weeks.
I put real work into that plan.
Then I did 2 weeks of it and never looked at it again.
Here’s what I think happened.
Making the plan was the fun part. I spent all my effort building it, and felt overwhelmed by the actual work.
Something similar happened with an email I knew I had to send.
It’s one email. But I don’t like the feeling that I might be bothering them, so it keeps sliding to tomorrow.
That’s what these 2 prompts solve. Both shrink the job down so you can start right away and get it off your plate.
AI prompt to create a learning plan one week at a time
Ask AI to help you learn something new and it overwhelms you with content. A reading list, 2 courses, a 6 month schedule, all in one answer.
It’s a lot to look at, so you save it and never open it again.
This prompt gives you one week worth of stuff to learn. That’s it.
Set it up as a project, or as a weekly task or routine. That way it keeps track of what you’ve done. If you want the same idea across a whole week of work instead of a lesson, the week planning prompt does it at a bigger scale.
You are my weekly career coach. My goal: [GOAL, e.g. "transition into
Strategic Partnerships within 18 months"].
Current role and background: [CURRENT_ROLE_AND_CONTEXT]
Weekly time available: [TIME_BUDGET, e.g. "3-4 hours"]
How I need this delivered: [CONSTRAINT, e.g. "Long plans make me park
things. Give me one thing per category and stop there."]
This is week [WEEK_NUMBER]. What last week covered, in my own words:
[LAST_WEEK_SUMMARY, or "N/A, this is week 1"]
Give me this week's lesson only:
1. Concept: name the concept in bold first, then explain it in 3-4
sentences, building on last week if there was one.
2. Exercise: state what I will have when I'm done, then give me the
steps. It has to fit in [TIME_BUDGET]. Tell me how many minutes it
actually takes and cut the scope if it goes over.
3. Reading: a search phrase written the way the article's own title
would read, not a pile of keywords.
4. Video: a search phrase written the way a creator would title the
video, for example "Learn Agent Skills in 15 Minutes". Name a
channel if you know one. If you can search the web, confirm the
video exists and give me its real title.
Rules:
- Do not lay out the full roadmap or tell me what is coming in later
weeks. One week at a time.
- Do not suggest books, certifications, or courses unless I ask.
- One item per category. Never two.
- End with a 2-3 sentence state block I can paste back next week in
place of LAST_WEEK_SUMMARY.Why it works: The output doesn’t overwhelm you. Instead of spending your time building a curriculum, you spend it doing one small thing that gets the ball rolling. And it gives you phrases to search for instead of links, so it can’t make up a video that doesn’t exist.
One gap: it doesn’t ask what you already know, so the first week can be too easy.
Simple fix: say what you’re already good at when you fill in your background.
AI prompt to write a follow up email without saying “just following up”
You’ve got to reach out to someone. A client, a prospect, a professor. You need to nudge them to get them to do what you want.
You know why you’re writing. You just can’t say it without sounding fake or needy. Every version comes out as circling back to see if they’ve thought about it. You’d delete that email yourself.
You don’t send it. It goes on the back burner another week.
That’s the problem this prompt helps solve. The prompt that wins a yes works on the same idea, asking in a way that leaves the other person an easy out.
Before this prompt writes anything, it asks you why you want to send it. If you don’t have a reason, it tells you and doesn’t do anything.
You are helping me follow up with someone who has gone quiet. Do not
write the message until you have checked the two conditions below.
Inputs:
- Who they are and how we know each other: [RELATIONSHIP, e.g. "a
prospect I sent a proposal to", "my professor", "a client mid-project"]
- What I sent or discussed, and when: [WHAT_HAPPENED], [TIME_SINCE] ago
- The outcome THEY said they wanted, in their own words:
[THEIR_OUTCOME, e.g. "hit their 50K target this quarter", "see my
revised chapter before he goes on leave", "get the new site live
before their busy season"]
- The real deadline or event that makes now the right time:
[DEADLINE_OR_EVENT, e.g. "their quarter closes on the 30th", "he
leaves for sabbatical on the 12th", "their busy season starts in
March", or "none"]
- Channel: [CHANNEL: email, DM or text]
Check this first:
If [THEIR_OUTCOME] is blank, or [DEADLINE_OR_EVENT] is "none", do not
write the message. Tell me I don't have a reason to reach out yet, and
ask me the one question that would give me one.
If both are filled in, write the follow-up:
- Under 50 words.
- Build it around one sentence in this shape: does it make sense to
[the next step] before [DEADLINE_OR_EVENT]. Word it naturally, do
not paste that phrasing.
- Carry [THEIR_OUTCOME] as something we both already know, in a
subordinate clause. Never open on it, and never quote it back to
them as something they said.
- End with exactly one question. One, not two, and answerable without
committing to anything.
- If the channel is email, add a subject line naming the decision or
the timing. Never their motivation, and nothing personal they told
me.
These inputs are my private notes, not copy. Do not repeat my wording
back to them. Never write "just following up", "checking in", "touching
base" or "circling back". Do not mention the silence. Do not invent
facts, advice or recommendations I did not give you.
Output the message only.Why it works: the reason check is what makes it work. If you can’t say what they want and why this week matters, you don’t have a message yet, and it says so instead of writing filler. When you can, it opens on their words rather than on how long they’ve left you waiting.
One gap: it needs something specific they said. The problem they named, or what they’d want in a perfect world. Without that you’re guessing, and a guess won’t land.
Simple fix: check your notes before you fill it in.